Mosul
(Iraq)- Tuesday 19-2-2008 the Kurdish minister for Culture, Mr.
Falakaddin Kakeyi, opened a centre in the Aramean city of Ankawa,
in northern Iraq of province Kurdistan.

Falakaddin Kakeyi
is a minister in Kurdistan Regional Government for northern Iraq
(KRG).

The
opening of the Aramean centre was due to the decision of KRG to
provide ethnic minorities with means within sphere of KRG to
maintain and exercise their cultural heritage.

The Turkmens will have
their cultural centre as well.

We welcome the initiative
of KRG and wish that more of this kind of initiatives would be
unfolded to give the indigenous Aramean people of Iraq the
opportunity to attain their minimal fundamental rights which
they deserve in agreement with their indigenous roots in this
part of the world.

Minister
Falakaddin Kakeyi cuts through the tape and opens the Aramean
centre for culture and art in Ankawa.

What is
culture of a people without its own flag?

Above the
entrance of the building the following message is written in
Kurdish, Aramaic and Arabic: “The
General Directorate of Syrian Culture and Art”

The first
question which comes to the mind is this: What is culture of a
nation without its own flag?

On top of
the roof the Kurdish flag is waving. The Aramean flag is nowhere
to be found. Neither outside, nor inside, as far as one could
see.

To
respect the antique Aramean heritage, maintained and developed
for thousands of years, it would had given evidence of respect
to let flapper the Aramean flag next to the Kurdish flag, for
the Arameans are the indigenous people of Iraq.

On the other
side, fair is fair, something like this would be unthinkable in Turkey,
while the Turks have much more possibilities than the Kurds.

A
good sign to start with! We look forward to more of this kind of
developments in the future